Truce Between Two Kingdoms
by SakuraLily
Summary: Alternative universe. Princess Anna is kidnapped by the evil overlord known as Asakura Hao. Just read please? I can't think up a proper summary...>__
1. Default Chapter

Truce Between Two Kingdoms  
By SakuraLily  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King. ::sobs:: Although I would very much like to own Hao...;___;  
Claimer: I own Lily, of course, because she's me. :D!  
  
A/N: Warnings for this fic include yaoi and shonen-ai...YohXManta and HorohoroXRen. Oh. >_> Self-insertion coupling. HaoXLily...because I REALLY seriously, can't see Hao with anyone in the manga...that and I am...HAO-OBSESSED! :D Please read? ;___;   
  
  
~Chapter 1~   
  
  
Anna was annoyed. This could easily be told from the tick that was twitching besides her eye. The servants cowered, unsure what had made their princess so annoyed, and what way to remedy it.   
  
"Leave. Now. I wish to be alone."   
  
Her chilly clipped tone was more than enough to convince them, and they all scurried away, glad that none of them was the reason for her wrath. When the last servant had disappeared out the door, and closed it, she rose to pace around her room. The rustle of black silk as she moved distracted her momentarily, but only for a brief moment.   
  
She fidgeted absently with the string of beads that hung around her neck as she walked. Finally, she said to the nearest wall, "I need to get out of here." The wall remained silent, not answering. She growled in disgusted annoyance at it, even though she had known it wouldn't answer in the first place.   
  
"I'm talking to a wall. I'm going insane. THIS place is driving me insane."   
  
Anna sighed and sat down again. She needed to get out of the palace. This place was simply too containing, and without her sister here, there was nothing to keep her entertained. Her sister, Lily, had been taken to a boarding school for a year and wouldn't return until about a month later. She had managed to survive on various activities that flurried around the palace, but lately everything seemed to have settled into…nothingness. That fact was driving her crazy with pure boredom.   
  
Anna glanced around the room, running her eyes over each and every detail she could catch. The overly large and flowery bed. The wide closet filled with dresses and gowns that were much too complicated and expensive for her taste. The balcony that led out to the warm summer air outside and had a wonderful view of the royal gardens…which bored Anna. What was so beautiful about a bunch of green bushes and too colorful flowers? A small red velvet couch for her to sit on. A couple of wooden, but richly designed chairs finished her room. It was boring, but expensive and rich. She was amazed by the sheer boredom of it all.   
  
"Ugh," She said eloquently and stared into the mirror in front of her. The mirror reflected a pale young woman with dark brown eyes framed by blonde hair that curled slightly at her shoulders. The small golden crown in her hair shimmered in the light. She glared at it and pulled it off, setting it in front of her. It reminded her all too much of the fact that she was a princess and soon she would be married to some unknown suitor.   
  
Anna bit her lip lightly. It was her duty as princess, but still it wasn't a duty she particularly liked. She'd do it and do it with flare and honor, but that didn't mean she would like it one bit. It didn't help that her father had no sons and her mother could bear no more children. She needed to marry to someone with power, someone that could suitably take over the kingdom without trouble and wouldn't cause a stir. Someone who wouldn't treat her like some…sheltered and fragile princess. She wasn't that. Not at all and the very thought about being some…housewife made her ill and disgusted.   
  
Anna glanced at the crown again. It remained there on the table, shimmering brightly, coldly; the duty it represented wouldn't go away. Angered, she swatted at it and it fell to the carpeted floor with a thud and remained there out of sight. This was not helping her mood any and she didn't think that breaking her crown, again, would do any good. It was impractical anyhow and it wasn't going to change anything. She leaned back in her chair with another disgusted sigh and closed her eyes. Maybe there will be something to do tomorrow, she thought.  
  
~*~  


Lord Asakura Hao sat in his leather chair called "The Evil Throne of Doom". The name was peculiar and admittedly old, but Lord Asakura Yoh hadn't been particularly creative that day and it seemed like a good name at the time. Hao had been amused and easily adopted the name for his "throne". Hao brushed absently back a lock of his long hair that had fallen into his eyes, his mind going through possibilities of amusement and coming back with none.   
  
"I am bored."   
  
He declared this solemnly to his friend who sat besides him. Lord Horohoro raised an eyebrow at Hao, his expression mildly surprised and amused.   
  
"Already? I was thinking that my company was amusing for you."   
  
Hao grinned slowly somehow managing to look evil despite the fact he was only grinning.   
  
"You know perfectly well by now that I don't mean it that way."   
  
Horohoro grinned back in the cheerful and completely unheld back way that was his.   
  
"Still. I'm surprised. I thought that girl that I gave you would entertain you enough," Horohoro said thoughtfully as Hao sighed regretfully.   
"She was pretty I suppose, but she was too typical. She reacted like any other expensively-bought girl, nothing new and certainly not interesting."   
"What did you do to her?" Horohoro asked resignedly, but also interested at the same time. Hao grinned again…this time managing to look innocent…yet evil which really made no sense at all, but you needed to see it to understand.   
"I didn't really DO anything…she was boring as it was. By the time you left she had practically stripped herself and was trying to seduce me. That's happened too often, too much and is too…unoriginal. I just sort of…threw her out of my room bare naked and let some of the servants take her away."   
  
Hao shrugged carelessly, his long brownish-red hair rippling over his shoulders like liquid silk. "Well then she did give you some entertainment even though it was brief."   
  
Horohoro sighed.   
  
"I can't tell whether to say you're too easily amused or get bored too easily." Hao grinned again and tugged absently on his gloves.   
"I'd like to think I'm neither, since neither is a compliment." The blue spiky haired lord shrugged with a laugh and drank from the goblet of wine in front of him.   
"Isn't Yoh coming to visit tomorrow morning with Manta I believe?"   
"Yes he is. That should relieve some of my boredom for awhile, my twin is entertaining."  
"You take everything as entertainment, nothing seems to matter to you…"   
  
Hao raised a skeptical eyebrow at Horohoro.   
  
"Everything is entertainment in one form or another. It doesn't matter to me." He rose from his seat, his customary smile on his face, but Horohoro could see it was slightly flawed. Just slightly. He wanted to say something about it, but didn't dare not when Hao was acting as if everything was perfectly fine.   
  
"I have something to attend to, I'll return later." Horohoro nodded quietly and watched as Hao swept out of the room, his long hair swirling after him. His friend seemed so lonely…  
  
~*~  


"Maanntaaa~ where are you?" Yoh opened his eyes blearily to look around the bedroom for his lover.   
"Over here." The tall blonde boy said with a small smile, a towel was wrapped around his waist and his hair dripping wet. Yoh stared for a moment unable to resist and said slowly, "You're not supposed to get up before me…" Manta grinned.   
"Why ever not?"   
"Because you're not supposed to."   
  
Manta laughed, his laughter ringing through the bedroom.   
  
"That's not a reason, Yoh."   
  
He sat down besides Yoh whom promptly pulled him into a hug.   
  
"It's not, but I don't care," Yoh said defiantly and rested his chin on Manta's shoulder with a soft sigh.   
"Why would you worry? You know perfectly well that I wouldn't just leave you there." Manta said amusedly and tilted his head slightly to rest on Yoh's breathing in his lover's scent, which reminded him of leaves and rain. Yoh shrugged a little.   
  
"It's just a feeling I can't help but feeling so stop getting up before me."   
  
The arms around Manta tightened ever so slightly and Manta nodded.   
  
"I won't then if you feel that way." They stayed like that for awhile until Yoh finally released Manta, grinning happily.   
"We're going to visit Nii-chan tomorrow, I can't wait! It's been awhile since I last saw him." Manta smiled at his lover's enthusiasm.   
"It has, we should go to visit more often Hao's probably bored out of his mind again."   
  
Yoh snorted delicately and tried to imagine when his twin wasn't bored.   
  
"Nii-chan's always bored. He's either bored or amused and most of the time he's bored."   
"True. There's nothing to keep him entertained. He goes through everything too quickly and too thoroughly." Yoh nodded and ran a hand through his dark hair with a sigh.   
"Sometimes I think he just needs to find someone to entertain him, he's too lonely." Manta's expression was slightly skeptical and Yoh shrugged carelessly, much like Hao had done.   
"I know there's probably no one alive that could keep up with Nii-chan and not bore him to death by the end of a week, but I can hope. I don't like the fact that Nii-chan has no one to be with." "You're hoping too much for a fairy tale, Yoh…not everyone can be happy." Yoh grimaced slightly and nodded.   
"I guess you're right, but I like to be optimistic of the impossible. Stop being so practical Manta." He poked at Manta's nose lightly in reprimand. Manta grinned and caught Yoh's wrist.   
"I suppose…are you going to punish me for that?" Yoh poked at him lightly with his other hand. "…We just finished! Think about something else for a while won't you?" Manta let go of Yoh's wrist laughing.   
"I was just kidding. I'm willing to bet that there's some problem waiting for my great Lord Asakura to solve." Yoh stuck his tongue out at Manta, which caused his lover to laugh even more.

  
~*~  


  
  
  
  
Right...Um...reviews? Comments? Like it? Hate it? Tell me anyway! Because I need comments to improve! Thanks for reading if you're still THERE! 


	2. Chapter 2

Truce Between Two Kingdoms

By Sakuralily

Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King…;___; Although I would very much like to own Hao.

Claimer: Lily belongs to me since she's me…I like to think I own myself! ^__^

A/N: Warnings include yaoi and shonen-ai, specifically, YohXManta and HorohoroXRen. And a self-insertion couple HaoXLily. Thanks, Wusai, for being my super great beta-reader! :D

A/N 2: Aa...I must also state that the Tall!Manta in this fic is not CTR-sama's Manta. I merely made the original Manta taller...because I was breaking my brain trying to imagine Manta riding a huge stallion...and so I made him tall so that he could without my brain going "SPLAT!" every time I tried. So I apologize to CTR-sama for causing that confusion and to anyone else who thought so. Hontou ne gomen nasai! ::bows:: 

~Chapter 2~

"Your Highness, Their Majesties wish to speak to you." Anna glanced up from the book that she had been reading to acknowledge the bowed servant before her, raising an eyebrow in surprise.  
"Mother and Father…I see…I'll be there right away."   
  
The servant bowed again and left quickly. Anna rose from her seat, brushing at her dark dress in annoyance as it rustled and tried to think of any reason why King Eike and Queen Rainya would wish to summon her. She and her royal parents were fairly close, but they rarely spoke on such formal terms and most discussions were done over the breakfast or dinner. She frowned and hoped that it wasn't bad news. Well there wasn't much use worrying about it now she thought since she was going to find out soon enough. The throne room was relatively close and as she entered she caught her parents speaking.   
  
"….No…it's better for me to…"  
"Nonetheless. It is her….and…we…"   
  
Anna stepped into the room purposely making more noise than necessary to announce her presence. King Eike stopped speaking immediately, his sentence drifted off unfinished.   
  
"Anna."   
  
Queen Rainya greeted her with a smile, but Anna could see that it was strained. King Eike's nervous smile was also another sign for Anna to be nervous and she noted with narrowed eyes the way her father wouldn't look at her directly.   
  
"Mother and Father."   
  
She curtsied politely and wondered what it could be that had her parents so worked up and it obviously at something to do with her.   
  
"Anna…" Her father began hesitantly, his dark brown eyes still cast downward. She waited, watching carefully and keeping her face neutral. Her mother placed a calming hand on her father's arm and they shot each other a look. Finally her father sighed and looked at her with saddened brown eyes and Anna knew immediately that it wasn't going to be something she liked.   
  
"What is it Father?"   
  
She finally asked when all her father did remain quiet. King Eike ran a hand through his black hair, casting his wife another glance. Queen Rainya gave him a weak smile and nodded slowly.   
  
"Anna…there's been a problem…between our kingdom and another." Anna nodded curtly preparing herself for the blow that she knew was coming.   
  
"We…your mother and I…can't possibly gather a force strong enough to go against the other kingdom if we were to go to war. If."   
"Whose kingdom is it?"   
  
Her father froze, surprise on his face. Anna sighed impatient, she didn't have time for this, and she wanted to get to the point NOW.   
  
"…Lord Asakura Hao…" Her mother inserted softly. Anna's eyes widened slightly in shock.   
"You're joking, Mother. You're joking." She said slowly in disbelief. No one in history so far could go against Asakura Hao and win. No one. Not one kingdom that he decided to invade ever won and in the end failed miserably. Queen Rainya show her head, her blue eyes sad and Anna knew that they weren't lying.   
  
"….What are you planning on doing then?" Anna questioned quietly, her hands clenched into fist forcing herself to calm and look at the situation.   
  
"Your Mother and I hope to form an alliance with him or perhaps his twin Asakura Yoh. I don't think he would attack any kingdom that was under his own twin's command."   
  
She nodded understanding, waiting still. King Eike paused for a moment and then continued, "We're sending you on an treaty mission to Lord Yoh's kingdom and ask for an alliance."   
  
Anna nodded slowly yet again, there was something missing here that she felt. It was something in her father's tone that hinted something. Her eyes narrowed dangerously.   
  
"You're not telling me something Father. What is it?"   
  
Queen Rainya laughed quietly almost bitterly.   
  
"I told you that you couldn't keep it from her, dear. She's too perceptive for you to hide it from her." King Eike sighed with great reluctance, smiling weakly at Anna.   
"If…the treaty should fail…we might…try a marriage…"   
  
Anna flinched and bit her lip to keep from crying out.   
  
"However…we don't know if a marriage should work since…" Her father coughed a bright red flush darkened his face. Anna raised a skeptical eyebrow and watched as her father stammered for a moment.   
  
"Since…?"   
"To put it bluntly…Lord Yoh…prefers…men…to women."   
  
Anna paused for a moment to process this bit of information.   
  
"So you're saying Father that you want me to marry a man who is…gay? Do you realize how wrong that sounds?"   
  
Queen Rainya gave up stifling the laughter that had been bubbling at the edge of her throat. King Eike blushed and tried vainly to make his wife stop laughing.   
  
"It's not LIKE that Anna!…But Lord Yoh will still want an heir won't he? And wouldn't it all be better for us?"   
"Most likely and probably not."   
  
Anna sighed.   
  
"This IS the alternate possibility right? There is still a chance that I don't have to marry this gay guy right?"   
  
Her father nodded quickly, his eyes averted and the blush still on his face.   
  
"Very well then…when shall I leave?"   
  
King Eike smiled weakly at his daughter, unable to contain the hope in his eyes.   
  
"So you'll go?"   
"No. Its too much trouble."   
  
Eike almost fell from his throne, but managed valiantly not to.   
  
"Give me some face won't you Anna?"   
"Fine."   
  
Anna shrugged her face neutral. King Eike sighed in relief and leaned back against his throne.   
"You shall leave in about a week. We don't want to drag out the treaty for too long and if possible before Lily returns from boarding school…"   
  
Anna nodded, thinking about how her half-sister would worry if she came back only to find her gone.   
  
"Definitely. Lily would probably go and try to murder Lord Hao herself if it all came down to it." Her parents nodded with a sigh.   
"Lily's…very protective of you apparently. I don't know why, but it seems to be so."   
  
She shrugged carelessly, but smiled a little.   
  
"Yes she is. May I be excused now?"   
  
King Eike nodded and waved in a dismissive gesture, smiling at his oldest daughter. Anna curtsied again and left, her thoughts occupied about the events that would take place a week from now.

  
~*~

Lily glanced at her scythe then back up to her friend Tao Ren's face.   
  
"You…are SO…dead."   
  
Ren smirked, his slanted golden eyes gleaming with glee.   
  
"Not if you can't come and get me."   
  
Lily glared at him for a moment and then calmly wiped the dripping red paint off of her scythe.   
  
"Next time…your glaive is most definitely going to come in pieces." She smiled sweetly at him as he glared back.   
"Not this time, you're not going to get to it in the first place."   
  
Several other students watched on with amused expressions. These prank fights between Ren and Lily had become common occurrences over the last year and none were surprised.   
  
"Yes I will, you're going to pay for even touching my scythe."   
  
She continued to wipe off the paint that clung to her precious scythe.   
  
"It's your fault for taking my glaive and painting it pink. This is only pay back." Ren replied a tic at the edge of his forehead twitching as he smirked triumphantly. Lily stuck her tongue out at him briefly and continued to clean until all the red paint was off. Looking it over and satisfied that none had stained her scythe permanently, she grinned.   
  
"That wasn't too creative though Ren."   
  
The pointy-haired young teen shrugged elegantly unconsciously posing himself gaining a few dreamy sighs from a few passing girls.   
  
"It doesn't matter, I thought it was rather good."   
  
He smirked arrogantly which gained another round of sighs. Lily rolled her eyes in exasperation and decided it was best to ignore all of Ren's fans from now on…even though she had made the resolution for the whole year…  
  
"Fine then. My next one will be better than yours will. Just you wait."   
  
Ren put his hands on his hips glaring, his eyes narrowed.   
  
"We'll see about that."   
  
Lily shrugged copying Ren's earlier smirk.   
  
"Anyhow I was coming to ask you a question."   
  
She folded her scythe together with several well-placed clicks on the staff. Ren watched impatiently.   
  
"What did you want to ask?"   
"What are you going to do after you get out of school?"   
  
He blinked slightly surprised by the randomness of the question.   
  
"I don't know yet…I was going to go home I suppose, not that I really want to…" he said glaring at the wall as if he had said something that revealed a weakness. Lily grinned happily at him, ignoring the way he was glaring at the wall.   
  
"Well if you don't want to go home…why don't you come visit MY home?" Ren…blinked at the wall…turned and blinked at her.   
"You mean like go with you…?" She nodded with a shrug.   
"Yes. It's just a suggestion that you might want to consider. It'll be fun if you do. I can spar with you and you'll beat me up and I'll beat you up, but you know."   
  
Ren paused for a moment mulling over the suggestion.   
  
"Right…as if you could beat me up. I'll come with you if only to show that you can't." He smirked and looked away. Lily grinned.   
"Yes, but don't get mad when YOU'RE the one who's beat up."   
"Oh shut up….Thanks…"   
  
Lily shrugged twirling her closed scythe around.   
  
"How am I supposed to shut up and say you're welcome at the same time?"   
  
Ren whacked her, blushing.   
  
"OUCH! HEY!"

  
~*~

Yes. Chapter 2…I work fast don't I? Um…reviews? Comments? Love it? Still hate it? Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Truce Between Two Kingdoms

By Sakuralily

Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King…;___; Although I would very much like to own Hao.

Claimer: Lily belongs to me since she's me…I like to think I own myself! ^__^

A/N: Warnings include yaoi and shonen-ai, specifically, YohXManta and HorohoroXRen. And a self-insertion couple HaoXLily. Thanks, Wusai, for being my super great beta-reader! :D

A/N 2: Restate that Tall!Manta is not CTR-sama's Manta! :D

A/N 3: Regarding to "???" 's suggestion…that would be a SECRET! Himitsu desu! ^___~ I have plans…yes…plans! BWHAHAHA~~~ So I won't reveal anything…_ _ ::nods:: Just that HaoXAnna won't work.

~Chapter 3~

Horohoro blinked blearily at Hao and then rubbed his eyes.   
  
"Tell me again why the hell I'm up so early?"   
  
Hao grinned obviously delighted at Horohoro's discomfort.   
  
"Yoh's visiting this morning and we're waiting for him to get here. You're up because you told me to wake you up before Yoh gets here." Horohoro groaned and rubbed at his eyes again.   
  
"It's not my fault that you're grouchy in the morning and can't get up. The way you're acting it makes me think you didn't get any sleep last night."   
  
The blue spiky-haired lord shoved absently at Hao.   
  
"It's mostly your fault, I was up all night trying to think whether or not I offended you yesterday."   
  
Hao laughed, grinning almost evilly.   
  
"You offend me every day and I still put up with you."   
"Shut up, Hao…" Horohoro paused for a moment, replaying their conversation in his mind.   
"You know…that conversation sounded very wrong…" Horohoro glanced at his friend who was smirking all the more evilly.   
"I know." Hao replied, wrapping an arm around Horohoro's shoulders and pulled him close. Horohoro sighed and pushed at his friend slightly irritated.   
"Stop it Hao. You know I hate it when you do that." Hao sighed and brushed back his long hair, smiling still.   
"I know. It's just that it's so much fun to tease you." Horohoro glared at the evil overlord briefly and shoved at him again.   
"Find other ways of amusement other than insinuate that I should go to bed with you." Hao pouted which looked evil, but cute…somehow.   
"Why ever not? You're cute enough to and I'd like to think that I'm good enough not to disappoint you." Horohoro blushed and pushed at Hao one final time.   
"Because…it would be weird and you know perfectly well it would be." Hao sighed regretfully and grinned at Horohoro.   
"True. That's why I haven't done more than just tease. But to be perfectly serious, if you wanted to I'd be willing." The evil overlord winked at Horohoro, which caused him to blush even more.   
"Y-yes. Like that would ever happen."   
"It could, you never know. It's a possibility you might want to keep open." Hao tugged at his cloak and it billowed as the chilly morning wind whipped at it. Horohoro never got to answer as two figures in the distance riding horses arrived.   
"Aa…here comes Yoh and Manta now."   
  
Yoh rode up first with a cheery wave and his customary large grin.   
  
"Nii-chan! Boroboro!" Hao laughed and waved back as Horohoro besides him twitched angrily.   
"It's HOROHORO! How many times do I have to tell you?!" Yoh shrugged with another grin and waited for Manta to catch up with him before dismounting from his horse. Manta dismounted as well and bowed to Hao and Horohoro.   
"Good afternoon." He said with a small smile. Hao grinned back, which probably wasn't reassuring, but it was meant to be so Manta accepted it gingerly. Horohoro's cheery grin was much better and was just happy.   
"There's no need to be so polite Manta, we're pretty much family after all." Hao said looking meaningfully at Manta then at Yoh as his twin flushed.   
"Nii-chan stop teasing. It's not exactly a great way to great your brother." Yoh said struggling to look angry, but failing miserably since his face was still flushed. Hao laughed with careless shrug.   
"You know that's all I do. Tease. It gives me amusement. But it is good to see you again, Yoh."   
  
The evil overlord smiled again which seemed slightly more genuine than his last, but only slightly. Horohoro watched the exchange with a grin, but he noted that his friend was indeed happy to see his twin. Yoh seemed to notice this also and smiled back happily.   
  
"And it's good to see you too, Nii-chan and…Horohoro."   
"It's has been awhile hasn't it Yoh? The last time was at Meeret Falls with the race wasn't it?"   
  
Horohoro reflected that it was easy to be around Yoh. It seemed like there was a warm air around the brown-haired lord that welcomed people into its embrace. Yoh took everything in with nothing more than a carefree smile and reflected back with nothing but comfort.   
  
"Yes it was. That was a fun race, we should do that again sometime." Horohoro nodded and grinned in competition.   
"Next time though you'll be the one to lose." The challenge didn't phase Yoh and all he did was grin silently. The grin disappeared for a moment as Yoh suddenly remembered something.   
"Yes. I almost forgot. Nii-chan, can't you have more control over your shikigamis?" Hao blinked at the sudden change of topic, but replied easily.   
"Why? They're doing their job fairly well." Yoh grimaced briefly.   
"You know perfectly well that they attack almost anything that enters your borders especially anyone with magic abilities. They were trying to murder me when I entered the border." Yoh said gesturing absently at the direction in which he came in.   
"It's true. The only reason that Yoh didn't destroy any was because the damage would come back to you and you did stop them in time…" Manta said hesitantly besides Yoh with a worried look on his face.   
"Hmm…well I'll consider it, but I don't promise anything." Hao said tossing his long reddish-brown hair back with a smirk. Yoh could tell already that his twin was not going to change his mind anytime soon.   
"Now let's go inside and we'll recount events while I tease Yoh and Manta." Hao inserted as the others nodded.   
"You are not going to tease Manta and I though Nii-chan." Yoh said firmly as they walked into the castle.   
"Really? Why not?" The evil overlord questioned amusedly, glancing at his twin.   
"Because I don't want you to."   
"That's not really a reason, Yoh. Besides as the older brother it gives me certain rights to teasing. You should merely be glad that I haven't gotten to the point of asking how good Manta is in bed. Not that I won't eventually, but still."   
"NNNIII-CHHAANN!!!!" Manta looked ready to die from the blushing so red. Hao laughed and the laughter echoed as the castle gates slammed shut.

  
~*~  


Comments! Reviews! ONEGAI! ::pleads:: I THRIVE on reviews and comments…good OR bad…;___;


	4. Chapter 4

Truce Between Two Kingdoms

By Sakuralily

Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King…;___; Although I would very much like to own Hao.

Claimer: Lily belongs to me since she's me…I like to think I own myself! ^__^

A/N: Warnings include yaoi and shonen-ai, specifically, YohXManta and HorohoroXRen. And a self-insertion couple HaoXLily. Thanks, Wusai, for being my super great beta-reader! :D

~Chapter 4~

Anna told herself once again that she did not want to get annoyed with the servants and murder them all now since she needed them and it would be a bad idea.   
  
"I said that it was all right and no I do not need anymore gowns or dresses to be made." She said through clenched teeth, forcing down the urge to strangle the servant girl before her. The girl nodded hurriedly and bowed, disappearing out the door quickly. Anna sighed in frustration and threw a pillow into the nearby wall. She took a deep breath trying to calm herself, but the pressure of her mission was enormous and at this point annoying as hell. The pillow landed on the wall with a soft thump and fell to the ground next to other unfortunate items that had been thrown.   
  
In nothing more than a few short hours she would be leaving for an unknown territory and to a lord that was reputable as gay. Not only that, the fate of her kingdom rested on her shoulders. If she failed her home would be destroyed and taken over by some evil overlord that was reputed to have many affairs and was pure evil.   
  
"Wonderful…wonderful…absolutely…wonderful." She muttered under her breath as she sat down in her chair. Her room had been cleaned thoroughly and looked extremely bare now then it had been a week ago. Trembling suddenly she placed a hand on the necklace of beads around her neck. The reassuring presence of the cold marbles relaxed her momentarily and she breathed easily. _This is something I have to do and I have to do it right. I can't break down now. I WON'T break down._ She thought calmly and let her hand slide back down beside her.   
  
A few pictures were left on the vanity in front of her and she grasped one of them. It was a picture of her half-sister Lily glomped around her waist. That had been taken a few months before Lily had gone to boarding school. She realized that she missed her half-sister terribly. Lily had always been there, a presence in her life ever since she was 10 and it was strange not to have her sister there with her.   
  
"Heh…if she was here…she'd be planning assassination attempts on Hao's life right about now." Anna said softly to the picture with a half-smile. She hoped absently that she would be back before Lily returned or there was sure to be trouble. She also wondered where on earth Lily had developed the protective streak over her, but it was something she rarely questioned about. There was a knock at her door again and she shot the large wooden door with a glare.   
  
"Yes?"   
"Your Highness…Their Majesties request that you get ready now. Apparently everything is ready and earlier than they thought."   
  
Anna let her brain register this fact before saying slowly, "Very well then. I'll be ready in a few minutes." She was surprised by the calmness of her voice.   
"Yes, Your Highness." As the footsteps disappeared, Anna was alarmed to find that she was crying…

  
~*~  


"What are you doing?" Ren asked almost curiously peering over Lily's shoulder.   
"Writing a letter to my sister and my parents." She replied absently and she scribbled something down.   
"Why would you bother?" The pointy-haired teen questioned almost disgustedly as he sat on the desk beside her.   
"Why not?" Lily retorted glancing up from the letter to look at her friend. Ren shrugged and looked away from her gaze.   
"They're my family and I care about them so I want them to know that I'm okay and happy where I am." She replied finally after a long moment of silence between them.   
"Oh…"   
  
Lily went back to writing her letter with a sigh.   
  
"Don't you ever write to your family? I remember that your sister, Jun, she visited you once."   
  
Ren shrugged again, his golden eyes strangely thoughtful.   
  
"I haven't really thought about it. I didn't think she would worry about me that much. My parents…they're too busy to worry."   
  
The last was said with just a hint of bitterness that didn't go unnoticed by Lily.   
  
"Hmm…most of the time I just write to my sister, Anna. My parents are also too busy. I suppose being rulers of a kingdom is hard."   
  
She smiled briefly at Ren whom stared a bit frozen.   
  
"You know…Anna's really not my sister either. She's only my half-sister, we're not really related at all."   
  
She continued casually while still writing. Ren waited for the explanation to continue.   
  
"My father had an affair with my real mother. They had met a party and things just got a little messy I suppose and before they knew it, my mother was pregnant with me. She tried to hide it from my father, but there's only so much you can do when you're pregnant. When he found out…he was really guilty and he wanted to take care of us, but he couldn't. My mother eventually just ran away and hid from him until I was born."   
  
The writing had stopped and the pen slipped from her fingers. There was a brief pause as she fumbled for it and Ren watched, slightly alarmed by the way she was acting.   
  
"Mother…she didn't like me." The statement was said calmly almost nonchalantly and the writing resumed. "I don't know why…maybe it was because I was a mistake. Maybe it was because I looked like Father, but she never liked me. My mother…she was really beautiful and when I was little I admired her. I loved the way her hair would sparkle every time the sunlight shined in her hair. I admired the way she acted so polite yet elegant, but she was sad. She was always sad and whenever she saw me she either got sadder or got mad. I think she wanted to love me, but I was too much like Father for her to love. She died when I was 6. The doctor said that she was too weak and she had no will to live. She withered away from all the sadness that she felt."   
  
The writing never stopped once and she said all this with a calm, detached tone.   
  
"Father found me two years later and took me to live with him. I met Anna there and my stepmother. And that's that."   
  
The pen stopped and was slowly put down the letter was finished. Ren paused uncertain how to take this all in.   
  
"Why do you want me to know? What do you expect me to do?" He asked. His friend shrugged carelessly as she folded the letter up.   
"I don't know. I just wanted you to know I guess. You know my impulses make no sense." Ren snorted uneasily and glared at the wall.   
"They don't. I think that I'll write a letter to Jun later. Maybe. She'll be surprised if I do." Lily grinned at him almost evilly.   
"Surprised is good, but I think she'll be happy that you thought of her at least." Ren was the one to shrug this time.   
"I suppose. I don't really care."   
"You wouldn't. Now that I'm finished writing do you want to go practice? I still need to beat you back for the last time." The challenge hung in the air and the tense atmosphere melted away like ice in the sun. Ren smirked, his golden eyes gleaming at the challenge.   
"Fine. But I'll win again."   
"We'll see about that," was his only answer.   
  
~*~

Whee…comments! Reviews! Onegai~….V__V Chapters will be slightly slower in coming out from here since I have a block and my muses have deserted me to go make out somewhere…X__X Thanks for reading so far! :D


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